Global Governance Futures: Imperfect Utopias or Bust cover image

Global Governance Futures: Imperfect Utopias or Bust

33: Thomas Oatley – Complexity Theory and Political Economy 2.0

Mar 10, 2023
In this podcast, Professor Thomas O'Lee discusses complexity theory and political economy, challenging traditional thinking. They explore the relationship between the climate crisis and energy policies, the role of complexity theory in international relations, and the concept of black swan events. The chapter also delves into information entropy, predicting the financial crisis, transitioning to green energy, and the limitations of state intervention.
57:18

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources faces structural and coalitional constraints that hinder progress, necessitating the formation of new interests to drive the green transition.
  • Complexity science offers a fresh perspective for understanding societal change, encouraging us to think beyond linear approaches and explore emergent characteristics and innovative solutions to complex challenges like climate change.

Deep dives

The Challenge of Transitioning from Fossil Fuels

The podcast episode explores the challenges of transitioning from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources. It highlights the structural and coalitional constraints that hinder this transition. The structural constraint refers to the societal dependence on existing energy systems and the difficulty of reimagining and reconstructing society to operate on alternative energies. The coalitional constraint stems from the vested interests of industries reliant on fossil fuels, creating opposition to change. The episode emphasizes the need for a new cluster of interests to displace carbon-intensive producers and drive the green transition.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode